Vancouver woman mistakenly declared dead after filing late husband’s tax return

A Vancouver woman grieving the loss of her husband is dealing with a bureaucratic nightmare.

When June Miller’s husband Giorgio died last September after 35 years of marriage, her world came crashing down.

“We were best friends, we did everything together,” said Miller.

When she went to file Giorgio’s final tax return, she was told it would not be accepted online, and needed to be mailed.

“So I put his and mine in the same envelope and shipped them off,” said Miller.

She was flabbergasted when she got her notice of assessment back from the Canada Revenue Agency. It was addressed to “the estate of the late June Miller.”

“I went to go online to look at my account, but it was locked. So I called them and they said, ‘You’re deceased.’ I said, ‘You’re talking to me! Deceased, what are you saying? You have to change that,’” said Miller. “And they said, ‘Well, there’s a process. You have to prove that you’re alive.’”

Miller went to Service Canada in person and submitted all of her identifying documents, along with a letter from the funeral home that handled her husband’s service that said Giorgio had died, not June. She also presented a letter from her doctor saying she is very much alive. But so far, it hasn’t been enough to bring her back from the dead in the CRA’s eyes.

“I said, ‘I really want you to help me because I don’t want to be dead.’ My goal is to be 107, and they took that away a month ago,” said Miller.

The 65-year-old widow has just retired, but she’s been told she’s unlikely to get Canada Pension Plan payments while she’s declared dead. Needing income, she’d like to go back to work, but because her social insurance number has been deactivated, she needs to apply for a new one.

“There was a point where I laughed,” Miller said, adding her late husband would find some humour in this situation too.

“Giorgio is up there and he’s laughing, going, ‘Oh June, look at this mess you got yourself into.’ And then I was annoyed and angry, because I’m talking and I’m repeating and I’m talking and I’m repeating, and nobody’s getting it at Canada Revenue Agency.”

In an email, the CRA said it can’t discuss Miller’s case due to privacy, but outlined some possible reasons for a person to mistakenly be declared dead.

“It could be human error, a miscommunication from another government department, or, most often, a mistake made when a return is filed on behalf of a deceased person with an incorrect SIN number,” the email said.

The CRA added when it does happen, the agency tries to address it immediately.

“We understand that this can be both alarming and have financial implications. Our goal is to minimize any occurrence, and if it occurs, deal with it quickly. Generally, the issue can be quickly resolved once we are advised of the error,” the email said.

Miller says she’s spoken to many officials both in person and on the phone and no one seems to be able to help her. She’s been told she has to wait while a board looks into her status, adding: “They’re going to review it, and deem me alive or dead.”